The Baseball Hall of Fame just welcomed six living players into its Hall of Fame. While the 2014 class had welcomed six living new members, three of them were elected because of their success as managers. The only time in baseball history six living players had been inducted previously was in 1955, when Joe DiMaggio led a class that also included Dazzy Vance, Ted Lyons, Ray Schalk (maybe not necessarily deserving), Gabby Hartnett, and Frank "Homerun" Baker. It is safe to say that the Hall of Fame is thriving, up to a certain point. Of course, the league has some work to do to iron out some of the issues not yet addressed when it comes to the best players of our past generation. This will be tabled for a separate discussion. A player who had an interrupted career makes for an interesting case when it comes to being judged for baseball highest honor. Sandy Koufax dominated the sport for the last six of his last 12 big league seasons. Kirby Puckett put up a solid 12 year run, one that was on track for the Hall of Fame before he was suddenly forced into retirement. A total of 29 Hall of Fame players served during World War II, some during the prime of their careers. Another 24 Hall of Famers served during World War I. The Baseball Writers have shown compassion for both instances, showing that there can be exceptions to the unwritten rules.The reserve clause allowed for the owners to control the earning power of the players for about 100 years. Players were treated as property of the team they belong to, with the teams having the power to sign each player to a one year contract with an option for the next season. After Peter Seitz ruled in favor of players Andy Messersmith and Dave McNally in December of 1975, a loophole was created allowing both players to become free agents. This led to free agency being collectively bargained into the basic agreement between the players and the owners. For the first time in baseball history, the leverage shifted to the players. And the owners, who had grown use to having control over players contracts, had to compete with each other for the services of their own players if they wanted to stay competitive. This led to longtime Athletics owner Charlie Finley to disassociate himself from a game he was involved in for the past 12 years (1968-1980). Animosity ran wild over the course of the early 1980's, culminating with a lengthy work stoppage in 1981. Owners had the tables flipped on them and decided to go to every length to close the ground. Statements made by Commissioner Peter Ueberroth were made public, proving that he could care less that he was incriminating himself (in baseball terms). The Commissioner was going to curtail the length of contracts any way he could and he made it clear that he wanted all owners to do the same. Led by Ueberroth, all owners agreed to only re-sign their own free agents for the exception of players the owners did not want to have back. After the 1985 season, only four players switched teams. The same happened after the 1986 season. While the obvious could be stated that players lost money and guaranteed years, a lot more was at stake to some.Andre Dawson was not retained by the Montreal Expos after the 1986 season. He went into spring training without a job. He came to camp with the Chicago Cubs presenting a blank check (perhaps figuratively) to General Manager Dallas Green. He managed to slip in a bonus to be paid to him if he were selected as the National League's Most Valuable Player. He came out on top. Few others were anywhere near as lucky. Bob Horner was not offered a contract by the Atlanta Braves, or anybody from Major League Baseball. He wound up having to play in Japan in 1987. It took its toll on him, as he was not the same player when the St. Louis Cardinals signed him before the 1988 season. Al Oliver was fresh off an impressive American League Championship Series with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1985. Wanting to continue his career as a designated hitter, Oliver was looking to add to his 2743 career hits. No offers came his way forcing Oliver to call it a career. After the 1987 season, Steve Garvey took a hard stance on what he felt was collusion, accusing the San Diego Padres of not exercising options he should have been given for the 1988 and 1989 seasons. The Padres neither exercised the options, nor offered him a contract for the 1988 season. Garvey retired. "Scoop" hit .303 for his career and was one of five players in baseball history to collect 200 hits in each league.A seven time All Star, Oliver won a batting championship and amassed over 500 doubles in his career. Had Oliver chosen to retire, experts could say he may have fell a little short of Hall of Fame standards. But, what if he wanted to continue to play but was not allowed to due to collusion? Oliver made this exact statement to me during an interview in 2013 for the Passed Ball Show. Garvey was the 1974 NL MVP and managed to put up a .338, .361, .550 triple stash line (Batting Average, On Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage) in 55 postseason games. He was the Iron Man of his era, playing in 1207 consecutive games from 1975-1983. Garvey had six 200 hit seasons in seven years from 1974-1980 and was a ten time All Star. Garvey went through a vigorous process of a lawsuit of $3 million in damages against Major League Baseball. He eventually won his case, though the decision was not final until 2001, when the Supreme Court ruled in Garvey's favor. If the voters are understanding of players' careers cut short due to injury and are equally as empathetic when it comes to those who gave up prime years of their careers to serve the country in a major World War, why has there been little mention of how collusion cost Oliver and Garvey a chance to be in the Hall of Fame. Both wanted to play and were clearly not given a contract because of the colluding owners. Would it be fair to assume that both could continue their careers, even if not at a Hall of Fame level? If Oliver played another two seasons as a DH and compiled a pedestrian 130 hits per season, he would have over 3000 for his career. If Garvey played another three seasons, which was certainly reasonable, it would not be too much to ask for him to record 140 hits each season. He too would have amassed over 3000 hits. Though standards have changed, 3000 hits would have been a Hall of Fame lock during the 1990's. Garvey was on the ballot for 15 years and never got more 42.6% of the vote. Oliver, inexplicably, was off the ballot after one year, having garnished only 4.3% of the vote. When cases are being made for players for all different reasons, few have considered those careers who were cut short by collusion. Collusion should be on the same level of those who lost latter years of their career due to injury or prime seasons due to military service.

I was inspired by a question posed on one of the baseball pages yesterday, thinking about how most, if not all MLB teams that have Hall of Famers that represented their organizations likely have that one player that is their all time player. Teams like the Yankees, Dodgers, Red Sox, Tigers, Giants and others can say that there were more than one player that can be spoken about as their all time player. There are many ways this can be done. Should I include pitchers or just position players? I think it will create a better debate if we include pitchers on this list as well. I will first mention every existing franchise right now, including the Braves when they were in Boston and Milwaukee, the Athletics when they were in Philadelphia, the Orioles when they were in St Louis, the Twins when they were in Washington, the Rangers when they were in Washington and the Nationals when they were in Montreal. This will lead for a great debate and remember, only one player can represent each franchise. Atlanta Braves: The Braves have had their share of Hall of Famers, including Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine, who will be enshrined this season. Eddie Matthews was dominant and Chipper Jones should be in on the first ballot. It is a close race between Hank Aaron and Warren Spahn. Spahn was the greatest left handed pitcher to ever pitch in the game. But he ranks behind many of the other top pitchers and was not an immortal. Aaron was an immortal. Not just because of his 755 HRs, but because of where he ranks in all the other offensive categories. Aaron is in the discussion of the top ten offensive players to ever play in the history of the game. Atlanta Braves: Hank Aaron Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos): This comes down to the two players who made the Hall after starring with the Expos. Andre Dawson had some very good seasons, but there were several outfielders who were as good. Few catchers were in the same as Gary Carter. The answer to the question of why Carter went into the Hall as an Expo is because he was the greatest player they ever had. The same could not be said about the Mets. It also helped that he played with the Expos longer. Washington Nationals (Montreal Expos): Gary Carter New York Mets: Not much of a debate here. Many Hall of Fame players played for the Mets, but few were known as Mets. Gary Carter would be the second choice, but Seaver is called "the franchise" for a reason. New York Mets: Tom Seaver Philadelphia Phillies: Mike Schmidt and Steve Carlton would get the nod if we were talking about the top Phillies HOF player after 1950 though Robin Roberts and Richie Ashburn would get some consideration. But in my opinion, I think it is a no brainer to choose from the list of Chuck Klein, Pete Alexander and Ed Delahanty. Klein had five of the most dominant consecutive seasons to start a career ever. Alexander managed to win 190 games in his first 8 big league seasons. But to me, Delahanty gets the nod. Some may dispute the fact that his career started in the late 1880s, but he hit .347 for his career. He hit over .400 three times. And based on the grey ink test, he was a top player in the entire National League. Philadelphia Phillies: Ed Delahanty Miami Marlins (Florida Marlins): Andre Dawson missed out in a close race in Montreal (Washington). He gets the nod in Miami because of default. He is the only Hall of Fame player to put on a Marlins uniform. Miami Marlins (Florida Marlins): Andre Dawson St Louis Cardinals: Many players made the Hall of Fame after starring for the Cardinals. None stand out like Rogers Hornsby and Stan Musial. The Cardinals fans would choose Musial by a landslide, as he spent his entire 22 year career with the team. Hornsby was dominant in the 1920s and was the first National League star. Hornsby hit .358 for his career, .359 in a Cardinals uniform. While I was leaning towards Hornsby, Musial did hit .331, finished with 3630 career hits, the highest total in NL history until 1985. He also hit 475 HRs, won 3 NL MVPs and 3 World Series titles. St Louis Cardinals: Stan Musial Milwaukee Brewers (Seattle Pilots): One guy stands out in the history of the Brewers and that is Robin Yount. Paul Molitor had a great career, but spent his last several seasons with other organizations. I don't think this one is close. Milwaukee Brewers (Seattle Pilots): Robin Yount Cincinnati Reds: This is an interesting choice because players like Frank Robinson, Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Ernie Lombardi could all make a case to be the one. Bench, based on power numbers, is the greatest offensive catcher in the Hall of Fame today. Morgan is one of the top second basemen to ever play the game. Should I go with Bench because of his longevity? Morgan gets consideration even though he only played 8 seasons with the Reds, as those were by far the best he had in his career. I am going with Robinson based on his ten seasons with the Reds. Only once in those 10 seasons did he hit less than 29 HR and drive in less than 83 runs. He won a ROY and MVP, three times leading the NL in OPS. He was the start of the Big Red Machine. Cincinnati Reds: Frank Robinson Chicago Cubs: While Billy Williams, Ferguson Jenkins (guest on Passed Ball Show) and others have their place in the team's history, there is only one "Mr. Cub." Chicago Cubs: Ernie Banks Pittsburgh Pirates: The Pirates are an interesting choice. Guys like Willie Stargell, Paul Waner and even Pie Traynor and Arky Vaughan deserve consideration. To me, it comes down to Roberto Clemente and Honus Wagner. While Wagner played, he was considered the best player in the entire league. Clemente was one of the most special players to ever play in this game. This is a very close race, but in the end, I go with Wagner based on where he ranked in the entire game. In the dead ball era, there were few better players in the game. Pittsburgh Pirates: Honus Wagner Los Angeles Dodgers (Brooklyn Dodgers): The Dodgers, in my opinion, have the biggest debate among their Hall of Famers. They have had several great players, but no all timers. I think a case can be made that Jackie Robinson could hold the title, but he only played 10 seasons. The same applies to Sandy Koufax. Dazzy Vance pitched 18 seasons for Brooklyn and was the 1924 NL MVP. But Don Sutton won 233 games for the team. While Robinson was the most popular and remembered player for the Dodgers during his time, Duke Snider was among the best in the entire sport. Snider wins by the narrowest of margins. Los Angeles Dodgers (Brooklyn Dodgers): Duke Snider San Francisco Giants (New York Giants): It is a two horse race. Christi Mathewson and Willie Mays. Barry Bonds has immortal numbers, but may not get into the Hall. Willie McCovey was a terrific hitter. I thought it was a no brainer to take Mays, until I broke down Mathewson's career. He won 372 of his 373 games wearing a Giants uniform. I cannot ignore his numbers, which include an ERA of 2.13 for his career. Those who say it was because of the dead ball era are right except he led the league in ERA 5 times, WHIP 4 times, K/BB ratio 9 times, completed 465 games and threw 78 shutouts. I take Mathewson in an upset of public opinion. San Francisco Giants (New York Giants): Christy Mathewson Colorado Rockies: The Rockies are the only current team in MLB to have never had a future Hall of Fame player play for them. Todd Helton is an interesting candidate as he becomes eligible in five years. Larry Walker is a solid candidate, but is having difficulty gaining traction from the BBWAA. Colorado Rockies: none Arizona Diamondbacks: Roberto Alomar becomes the second player to have the honor of being the Hall of Famer for two different teams (Nolan Ryan). He gets the technicality for being the only Hall of Famer to put on a Diamondbacks uniform. That should change next season when Randy Johnson is expected to be in inducted. Oddly enough, Johnson will actually take the honor for both the Diamondbacks and the Seattle Mariners. Arizona Diamondbacks: Roberto Alomar San Diego Padres: Not much to say here, but the best player to ever put on a San Diego Padres uniform takes an easy win in this one. San Diego Padres: Tony Gwynn

After the Yankees signed free agent OF Carlos Beltran to a three year contract, there was a discussion over whether he is a Hall of Fame player. While he has had an outstanding postseason career, (.333, .445, .683, 1.128, 16 HR, 40 RBI in 180 ABs), he has missed a little bit of time due to injury and his overall career numbers come out very good, but not outstanding. As of this moment, Beltran has a .283 career average with a .359 OBP, .496 SLG for a .854 OPS. In 16 seasons, he has 1346 RS, 2228 hits, 446 2B, 77 3B, 358 HR and 1327 RBI. If he were to retire today, I honestly would not view him as a Hall of Fame player. But he is coming off three straight solid seasons since his last injury. And his Yankees deal is for three more. Obviously, if he compiles three more seasons similar to his last three, his chances will improve. For this hypothetical situation, we will assume Beltran's triple stash line remains the same and we will give him 80 RS, 160 hits, 33 2B, 3 3B, 25 HR and 88 RBI over each of the next three seasons. This will bring his career totals to 1586 RS, 2708 hits, 545 2B, 83 3B, 433 HR and 1591 RBI over 19 seasons. With all fairness to Beltran, I will not put his career numbers against that of Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio and even that of Ken Griffey Jr. So I picked three different players who all tell a different story, all of whom happen to be in Baseball's Hall of Fame. First is Kirby Puckett. Puckett won two World Series titles and retired earlier than he should have due to injury. He hit .318 in his career with a .837 OPS. In 12 seasons, he finished with 1071 RS, 2304 hits, 414 2B, 57 3B, 207 HR and 1085 RBI. Puckett's average numbers per season come out better than Beltran even though Beltran has the higher OPS, .854-.837. If you want to give Puckett a mulligan for his injury and subsequent early death, I'd give a slight advantage to Puckett. Next I will try Duke Snider. Snider won two World Series as well and played 18 seasons in the big leagues. In my opinion, a better comparison. Snider hit .295 for his career with a .919 OPS. He scored 1259 career runs, had 2116 hits, 358 2B, 85 3B, 407 career HR and 1333 RBI. As good as Snider was, the advantage clearly goes to Beltran in this instance. Finally, there is Andre Dawson. Dawson never won a World Series title in his 21 MLB seasons. He was a .279 hitter with a .806 OPS. He scored 1373 runs, had 2774 hits, 503 2B, 98 3B, 438 HR and 1591 RBI for his career. Look back at Beltran's estimated career HR and RBI. Their career numbers all around are kind of equal. Plus Dawson played his first 8 seasons in CF for Montreal. I see how Beltran is projected to finish with better numbers than Snider and is eerily similar to Dawson. Snider made the HOF because he was one of the best in the game, though his career totals did not reflect it. So if you want to go with the idea that if Dawson is in, so should Beltran, I do not have a problem with it. But to compare to the game's best CF/OF, it is not a fair discussion. I would still put him in, but I do not look at it as a slam dunk.

The postseason awards are honestly becoming an annoying way to posture why one thinks a player is better than another. Within the last three seasons, both the Cy Young and league MVP discussions have changed from being an award that simply goes to the best pitcher or hitter in each league to one that depends on which stat you choose to go with. The sabermetric community likes to discredit stats such as pitcher wins and runs batted in, which to a point is justifiable, but no one ever talks about the fact a pitcher has to pitch well to win a lot of games and a batter has to actually drive said runs in. It can be debated all day, but the problem lies with the vague definition of the awards. What do you mean by best pitcher or most valuable player? Because there is no set criteria for each award, many choose to use their own definition of the award. I feel confident that the AL MVP over the past two seasons was and should have been Miguel Cabrera. I think those who thought that Mike Trout should have won had a better case last season than this season. While I think Cabrera was correctly voted AL MVP, I understand the debate for Trout. Trout plays excellent defense, steals bases and probably does more different things to help the Angels than Cabrera does for the Tigers. In spite of Trout, the Angels still finished at 78-84. The critics say Trout did not have much to help him, but I do feel that the success of a team matters, at least to some extent. One who feels Trout should have won the award should agree that the numbers and production of the two are at least in the same ballpark. When that is the case, it is more important to factor in what the players impact had on a team. Part of the reason I disagree with the choice for the NL MVP is the fact that it was simply given to Andrew McCutchen because the Pirates made the playoffs in 2013. Like I said before, I think a team's success should factor in to the vote, but only if the players had comparable seasons. Yadier Molina's value to the St Louis Cardinals cannot be stated more, and maybe he could have been a possibility if there was not a candidate that stood out. But in 2013, there was a player who performed clearly above the rest. Paul Goldschmidt had an outstanding season, one which saw his numbers rank higher than McCutchen in just about every category. The Diamondbacks finished 81-81 and missed the playoffs, which is what cost Goldschmidt his due consideration. Lets break down the number of Goldschmidt and McCutchen and you make the logical decision, unless the award has changed to be the best player on a team to make the playoffs. I guess that is still up for debate. McCutchen had a solid season, won the Silver Slugger Award and made the All Star team. In 157 games, McCutchen scored 97 runs, had 185 hits, 38 2Bs, 21 HR and 84 RBI. He had a .317 avg, .404 OBP and .508 SLG for a .912 OPS. Goldschmidt played in 160 games, scored 103 runs, had 182 hits, 36 2B, and led the NL in HRs (36) and RBIs (125). I can hear the sabermetrics people scoffing now. Driving in 125 runs, which by the way, nobody else in the NL did, does not mean the player was valuable. In fact, what a lousy performance! I hope you pick up my sarcasm. But even if you choose to disregard the RBI stat, which you have every right to do, Goldschmidt had a .401 OBP and led the league in both slugging percentage (.551) and OPS (.952). He also led the NL with his 160 OPS+ and 332 total bases. McCutchen was close (158) in OPS+, but not close in the other categories. One may want to bring the defensive element into play, like they do with Trout. Ok, McCutchen did not win a Gold Glove Award this season, but Goldschmidt did. That should count for something. The only way one can justify McCutchen getting the award this season is because he played on a superior team. I'd like to use that as a tiebreaker if the numbers are close. They were not in this case. Goldschmidt should have been the clear winner, with no tiebreaker needed. Going back 27 and 26 years ago, respectively, I understand that there were no extensive stats to go by. But the voting system changed. When Mike Schmidt and Andre Dawson won the NL MVP in 1986 and 1987, they got the award because they were the best players in their respective leagues. If we were using today's formula of "you have to make the playoffs to win an award," Glenn Davis of the Astros and Gary Carter and Keith Hernandez of the Mets would have finished 1-3. In 1987, the same could have been said about St Louis' Ozzie Smith and Jack Clark and San Francisco's Will Clark. I get the change from a sabermetric perspective, but Goldschmidt was a better offensive player than McCutchen this season and was also the best defensive 1B in the NL. I understand that Goldschmidt cannot play CF like McCutchen, but he is the best defensively at his position. Don't the sabermetric guys like to incorporate defense into these votes? A guy that wins a GG and leads the league in OPS, OPS+ and total bases should be the most valuable player.

On May 18, former San Diego Padres RHP Eric Show would have celebrated his 57th birthday. Of course, Show has been gone since 1997 when he died of a drug overdose in a rehabilitation center in California. Show had some very good seasons for the Padres, winning 16 games once and 15 games another two times. With his 100 career wins, he has the most in the history of the San Diego franchise- eight more than Randy Jones and Jake Peavy. Show had a solid run from 1983-1988, after establishing himself as a starter during the 1982 season. Never a real strikeout pitcher, he pitched over 200 innings in 5 of those 6 seasons. He was mostly considered the Padres number one starter, though he struggled mightily during the 1984 postseason. Problems existed between Show and his teammates. Throughout his entire Padres career, there was a rift that seemed to exist. Of course, Show is known as the pitcher that gave up Pete Rose's record breaking hit in 1985; number 4192 to pass the great Ty Cobb. Show sat on the mound and before the game was quoted saying he didn't care about Rose and the record. In Show's opinion, he could not understand the length of the celebration of Rose's hit. During the same game, Show would get in a shoving match with OF Carmelo Martinez over a ball that fell in front of Martinez that led to the winning run. Shortstop Garry Templeton called Show's actions "bush" and the pitcher refused to answer questions after the game. This led infielder Tim Flannery to state the following: ""I'm tired of hearing about his unlucky luck, that's been at the root of the problem all year. If something goes wrong, he quits. That's why runs aren't scored for him. Guys don't want to play for him. One guy got tired of hearing it." Show always gave the impression he was doing a job by pitching in the big leagues. I am sure that rubbed some people the wrong way. Many in the game look and have looked at baseball as a game. Show never seemed to enjoy himself. He later spoke about the game saying something along the lines of you have a choice to think or not and most players cannot think about anything but baseball. Because he did not, Show felt he was considered a loner because of it. It may have been true. In my opinion, incidents like his hitting Andre Dawson in 1987 and joining the John Birch society are non-issues. Show's personality led him into drugs and eventually his death in 1994. Teammates stated they thought Show was not one to get into drugs and were adamant about him not using drugs during his career in MLB. Sometimes people do not fit in to an environment. Show could have possibly benefitted by pitching for another team than San Diego. By the time he signed as a free agent with Oakland, he was finished. Had he been traded to another team, maybe he could have gotten the change of scenery he needed to get. I do not think it would have stopped his later issues with drugs, though. But I think he could have possibly pitched a little longer and maybe enjoyed the game a little more than he did.

I am sure I can put together a series of the best teams to never make the postseason. It would start back before divisional play in 1969 and would include countless teams. The 1993 San Francisco Giants won 103 games and missed the playoffs, losing the NL West Division title by a game to the Atlanta Braves. The 1979 Montreal Expos had a solid core, proven veterans coming off the bench, two very good starting pitchers and one of the more underrated managers to ever sit behind the bench, Dick WIlliams. The Expos, of course, would miss out on the postseason as they finished in 2nd place, two games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates, who would win the World Series that season. They were 95-65, only playing 160 games while everybody else in the NL East played 162. (They did not play final games against Cincinnati and San Diego.) The core of the team was set up by future Hall of Famers, CF Andre Dawson and C Gary Carter. Dawson hit .275, 25, 92 with 35 steals and a team leading 90 runs scored. Carter hit .282, 22, 75. The rest of the lineup consisted of RF Ellis Valentine (.276, 21, 82), future HOF 1B Tony Perez (.270, 13, 73) and home run hitting 3B Larry Parrish (.307, 30, 82). Parrish led the team in batting average, home runs, on base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS and total bases in 1979. They also had Warren Cromartie in LF, who would lead the team in hits (181) and 2Bs (46). Veterans Rusty Staub and Duffy Dyer came off the bench, as well as future MLB executive Tony Bernazard and MLB manager Ken Macha. Future franchise star Tim Raines would appear in 6 games for the team in September. The pitching staff was led by veterans Steve Rogers (13-12, 3.00, 13 CG) and Bill Lee (16-10. 3.04), fresh off his 10 years in Boston. Williams did some of his best work with the rest of that rotation, getting 10 wins out of Ross Grimsley, David Palmer, Rudy May and Dan Schatzeder, getting 27, 11, 7 and 21 starts out of the respective pitchers. 22 year old Scott Sanderson made 24 starts, going 9-8 as the forth starter, with his 138 strikeouts second only to Rogers' 143. Bill Gullickson, at age 20 made his debut towards the end of the season, to go along with fellow youngsters Palmer (21) and Sanderson. Williams, in my opinion, is one of the best MLB managers few talk about. Many forget he led the 1967 Red Sox to the World Series in his first season there and won three straight AL West titles in Oakland, the last two being World Series Championships, before choosing to no longer work for owner Charlie Finley. He improved a bad Montreal team and got them to back to back second place finishes, before they finally made the postseason in the strike interrupted 1981 season. However, Williams was not there to take his team to the postseason as he was fired with 27 games to go in the regular season. His decision to use Rogers, his best pitcher, as a pinch runner in the middle of the pennant race in 1981 led to the firing. Williams, of course, was behind the bench for the 1984 Padres team that won the NL Pennant.

The 1989 Chicago Cubs are an extremely underrated baseball team. Though they had their stars, it was a combination of several players which made this team a success story. Of course, they lost the NLCS in five games to the San Francisco Giants which takes a little out of the seldomly told story. In the regular season, the Cubs went 93-69 under manager Don Zimmer. Offensively, they were led by future Hall of Fame 2B Ryne Sandberg, who hit .290, 30, 76 and future HOF OF Andre Dawson, who hit .278, 21, 77. Both players had better seasons. They got help from 1B Mark Grace and his .314, 13, 79 and SS Shawon Dunston (.278, 9, 60). They had the NL Rookie of the Year in CF Jerome Walton, who hit .293, 5, 46, with 24 SB. One of the most underrated players was LF Dwight Smith, also a rookie, who hit .324, 9, 52. They also got a combined 69 RBIs out of the catcher position (41 from Damon Berryhill, 14 each from Joe Girardi and Rick Wrona). Vance Law was the regular 3B in his last full MLB season, driving in 42 runs. The pitching staff was carries by three pitchers; a young future HOFer in Greg Maddux, who went 19-12, 2.95, a veteran who pitched for the Chicago Cubs in their last postseason appearance in 1984 in Rick Sutcliffe, who was 16-11, 3.66 and an unknown pitcher who had his lone big season in Mike Bielicki (18-7, 3.14). LHP Mitch Williams was 4-4, 2.76 with 36 saves as the closer and veteran Calvin Scharaldi went 3-6, 3.78 with 4 saves before being left off the postseason roster. Paul Assenmacher came over from the Braves, joining unknowns such as Steve Wilson, Paul Kilgus, Les Lancaster and Jeff Pico doing just enough to get the job done in the bullpen. What I find amazing is the amount of talent that was on this team. Of course, neither Walton nor Smith could duplicate the magic they had in 1989. Sandberg, Dawson and Maddux will all be HOF players. The team also included some very good veteran players such as Sutcliffe, Grace, Dunston and later on, Girardi. Unfortunately, they ran into the Giants, who were the better team. Who knows, if the Cubs won the NLCS and got to the World Series for the first time since 1945, neither the Cubs or Athletics are affected by the tragic earthquake that took over the 1989 World Series.